Student 5

Word Count: 695

Whats in a Poet?
TALLAHASSEE, FL --- To some students, poetry is that section of freshman English
class that you pray the teacher skims over. The section that causes you to cringe
because you think, Damn it if I have to analyze Frost or Whitman one more damn
time To others, poetry is the only thing that makes sense. To them, their story can
be found somewhere in between a stanza and the iambic pentameter.
Somewhere in between Williams building 325 and 327 is a poet who now shares an
accolade with Margaret Atwood, Stephen King and Susan Sontag: The Barnes and
Noble Writers for Writers Award. Her poetry, which can be about anything from
womens rights to describing a party in New York City, has gotten her published in
The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Yale Review (to name a few).

Not bad for a woman who had her start in Omaha, Nebraska. Erin Belieu got her
literary start writing a poem about a sewing machine in home economics class. Her
father, who was the then head of special education and gifted programs for the
school system, circulated the poem among teachers it was then that Belieu found
her calling.

Its really interesting how much of a path has to do with having those people who
help you see things that you cannot see for yourself, Belieu remarks in an interview
with The Tallahassee Democrat in April 2016.

These days, Belieus poetry addresses everything from social injustices and
feminists issues to retelling her experience at a New York party. Her poetry is
described as being conversational, unabashedly critical, ironic and frank. Her unique
writing style has earned her awards beyond the Barnes and Noble Writers for
Writers Award. She has been the recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Award, the
Society of Midland Authors Award, and was invited by former Poet Laureate Robert
Pinksy to read at the Library of Congress.
But as Erin Belieu reveals, she never wrote poetry to collect awards or titles, but
rather to give a voice to women in the literary field.

I was taught early by my parents that we have a responsibility to give to our

community, Belieu says, that we should actively work with whatever abilities we
have to leave the world a better place once our little moment here is gone

Her little moment has been quite impactful. As the co-founder of VIDA: Women in
Literary Arts, Belieu is working to create transparency around the lack of gender

Commented [KV1]: Great introduction!

Commented [KV2]: This really shows how much

research youve done on her! You did a good job of
presenting simple facts in an interesting way.
Commented [KV3]: Great quote!

parity in the literary world. But going beyond just gender parity, she is working to
create space for historically-marginalized voices, including people of color, queer
and trans writers and writers with disabilities.
VIDAs impact has been felt throughout the literary world. Authors Jodi Picoult,
Jamia Wilson and Roxane Gay have commented on the importance of VIDA. The
attention is overwhelming at times to Belieu, who started the non-profit
organization with other mothers back in 2009.

It seems kind of astonishing to me that a couple women with no more than lap tops,
working between jobs, childcare, etc. could have ended up actually shifting the
literary landscape for the good Belieu said Other than raising my son, it's the effort
I'm proudest of in my life.

When she is not busy breaking down barriers in the literary world, or collecting her
next accolade, she is working as the Director of the highly ranked MFA/Ph.D.
Creative Writing Program at Florida State University. Her decision to become a
professor is highly influenced by the same father who shared her gift with the world.
Now, Belieu hopes to cultivate the next generation of writers.
Lin Manuel Miranda once said A legacy is planting seeds in a garden you never get
to see, for Belieu her legacy will hopefully be that little girls know without a doubt
that their voices absolutely matter. That it's ok to have the same ambitions that their
brothers have for themselves.
Somewhere in between Omaha, Nebraska and Tallahassee, Florida between the
stanzas and iambic pentameter were sure there is more than one little girl (or
boy) who knows that legacy is more than secured.

Commented [KV4]: Great research and great reference

of her father!
Commented [KV5]: Great quote!

Commented [KV6]: Great conclusion paragraph. I love

how you brought it full circle. Overall, I thought you did a
great job with this article. You can tell that you did your
research. The way you incorporated information on her
background and achievements was seamless! Very clean
and cohesive writing. You also chose great quotes!